Kanaka Maoli Self-Determination and
Reinscription of Ka Pae'Aina (Hawai'i)
on the U.N. list of Non-Self-Governing TerritoriesIn 1993, U.S. Congress apologized to the Kanaka Maoli people
for the U.S. 1893 armed invasion

Kekuni Blaisdell,
Rarotonga, Cook Islands and Honolulu, Hawai'i

Kekuni Blaisdell, convenor of the Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Kamika, the Pro-Kanaka Maoli Independence Working Group and coordinator of Ka Pakaukau, a coalition of twelve organizations seeking independence attended the September 1997 3rd NGO Parallel Forum, Rarotonga, Cook Islands and submitted to In Motion Magazine the Communiqué from the Forum and also this resolution on Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) self-determination which summarizes the Hawaiian/U.S. history including the U.S. Congress' apology to the Hawaiian people for the 1893 U.S. invasion of Hawai'i.

Resolution on Kanaka Maoli Self-Determination and Reinscription of Ka Pae'Aina (Hawai'i) on the U.N. list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Whereas, since time immemorial, the Kanaka Maoli (indigenous Hawaiian) people have lived in Ka Pae'Aina (Hawaiian Archipelago) in harmonious self-sufficiency with their sacred environment of Ka Moanaui (Pacific Ocean) and with their distinct language and culture;

Whereas, in 1810 a central monarchical Kanaka Maoli government (Hawaiian Kingdom) was established to protect the Kanaka Maoli and their lands as an independent sovereign nation, and to deal with the world community of other nations, which subsequently officially recognized the Kanaka Maoli nation through treaties and diplomatic representatives.

Whereas, on January 16, 1893, United States of America (U.S.) domination, subjugation and exploitation of the Kanaka Maoli people and their lands, which had progressed since 1790, culminated in the U.S. armed invasion of Ka Pae'Aina in support of a coup led by a small group of U.S. businessmen against the Kanaka Maoli government in August 12, 1898, the U.S. forced annexation of Ka Pae'Aina against the expressed opposition of the Kanaka Maoli people in violation of Kanaka Maoli law, U.S. law and international law.

Whereas, on February 9, 1946, as a U.S. colonial possession was placed on the United Nations (U.N.) List of Non-Self-Governing Territories eligible for decolonization; however, the U.S. thereafter failed to comply with its sacred trust obligations, under the U.N. Charter and U.N. resolutions, delineating the rights of the Kanaka Maoli people to self-determination.

Whereas, on March 18, 1959, the U.S. enacted a law for incorporating Ka Pae'Aina (Hawai'i) as a state of the U.S. before a vote on the question, as required by U.N. General Assembly Resolution 742 (VIII) of 1953 and the U.N. Charter; the U.S. in a June 27, 1959 statehood plebiscite failed to identify only the Kanaka Maoli as the colonized people eligible for decolonization, the U.S. promoted voting by a majority of non-Kanaka Maoli, including U.S. military personnel, known to favor statehood; the U.S. failed to present all options for self-determination, including independence; the U.S. on September 17, 1959 misrepresented the plebiscite results to the U.N. in reporting that the people of Ka Pae'Aina (Hawai'i) had "attained a full measure of self-government," so that the U.N. General Assembly removed Ka Pae'Aina (Hawai'i) from the List of Non-Self-Governing Territories;

Whereas, on January 16, 1993, during the centennial of the U.S. armed invasion of Ka Pae'Aina, 15,000 Kanaka Maoli gathered at 'Iolani Palace in Honolulu to call for restoration of the Kanaka Maoli nation.

Whereas, on August 12-21, 1993, the Peoples' International Tribunal Hawai'i of world distinguished human rights authorities found the U.S. guilty of violating Kanaka Maoli inherent sovereignty and right to self-determination under Kanaka Maoli, U.S. and international law; recommended immediate recognition of the inherent sovereignty of the Kanaka Maoli and their right to self-determination, return of all Kanaka Maoli lands without delay and reinscription of Ka Pae'Aina, on the U.N. List of Non-Self-Governing Territories and eligible for decolonization.

Whereas, on November 23, 1993, U.S. President William Clinton signed the U.S. Congress Apology Joint Resolution (PL 103-150), in which the U.S. apologized to the Kanaka Maoli people for the U.S. 1893 armed invasion of Ka Pae'Aina in support of the white settler coup as "deprivation of the rights of the Native Hawaiians to self-determination," in violation of U.S. law and international law; acknowledged that the Kanaka Maoli people "never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum" thus, PL 103-150 implicitly conceded that the 1959 statehood plebiscite was fraudulent;

Whereas, no valid exercise of Kanaka Maoli right to self-determination occurred in 1959 nor since, therefore, U. N. General Assembly Resolution 2625 (XXV) of 1970 applies, namely: that Ka Pae'Aina continues to have a separate and distinct status from the U.S. administering state; that the U.S. has a duty "a duty not to deprive forcibly" the Kanaka Maoli people "of their exercise of self-determination"; and the Kanaka Maoli people "in their actions against and in resistance to, such forcible action in pursuit of the exercise of self-determination, are entitled to seek and to receive support in accordance with the purposes and principles of the (U.N.) charter";

Whereas, the U.S. persists in depriving the Kanaka Maoli people of their right to self-determination by creating in 1996 a state-imposed process for a "Native Hawaiian Plebiscite/Vote" and a "Native Hawaiian Constitutional Convention" that violates Kanaka Maoli law, state of Hawai'i law, U.S. law and international law;

Whereas, the Kanaka Maoli people presently comprise less than 20% of the total Ka Pae'Aina population of 1.2 million, continue to be evicted from their lands, and have the worst and worsening health, social and economic conditions of all ethnic peoples in their homeland;

Whereas, the Kanaka Maoli people strongly support all peoples in their right to self-determination, and especially at this critical time our Ka Moananui (Pacific) brother and sister Kanaks, Maohi, Maori, Timorese, Bougainvilleans, Aborigines and Islanders;

BE IT RESOLVED that we participants in this PIANGO-PCRC Forum in Rarotonga, in September 1997, express our support for the Kanaka Maoli people in their pursuit of the authentic exercise of their right to self-determination in compliance with international law, by reinscription of Ka Pae'Aina on the U.N. List of Non-Self-Governing Territories.